Method of treating catalyzing materials.



STA s ATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES BURROWS MOBEY,' OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR. TO LARKIN 00., OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

METHOD OF TREATING CATALYZING MATERIALS.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. MOREY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buflalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of Treating Catalyzing Materials, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has the object to greatly diminish or entirely suppress the tendency of catalytic materials to heat or take fire on exposure. to oxygen, air or other gases containing oxygen, which tendency or property is usually referred to as 'the pyrophoric tendency or property of catalyzers.

In practising this invention the catalyzer or catalytic material is exposed to a partial vacuum for a suflicie'nt length of time to practically remove the occluded gas which is absorbed by or associated with the particles of'catalytic material. Exposure to a partial vacuum, which is preferably as complete as circumstances will permit it to be made,-

; catalytic metals, such as finely divided or powdered nickel, cobalt, platinum and the like, or to mixtures of the same, or to compounds comprising. such metals and inert material, such as kieselguhr, fullers earth, infusorial earth, pumice stone, and the like. The catalytic material is placed in an airtight vessel or chamber which is connected with an air pump or other suitable exhausting means, so that a partial vacuum, more or less complete, can be produced in the vessel. The air pump can be operated continuously or intermittently, as may be preferred. A satisfactory practice is to operate the pump until the partial vacuum in the vessel has attained the practical limit which the pump can produce. The vessel is then sealed by closing a stop cock in the pipe or' passage leading to the pump, or by other suitable means. The catalyze! is allowed to remain under this reduced pressure for a number of hours, preferably as long as twelve hours, during which time the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

Application filed March 2, 1914. Serial No. 821,939.

occluded gas gradually leaves the catalyzer and the latter becomes practically nonpyrophoric. If desired, however, the period of :rest mayv be shortened to about three hours and the pump be operated again to remove as far as practicable the gas which has become liberated during the period of rest, and this second operation of the pump maybe followed by another period of rest. These alternating periods of exhaustion and rest may be repeated until the desired effect has been produced. In some cases it is desirable to admit air or some other inert gas, for instance, nitrogen, to the vacuum vessel at the end of the period of rest and to exhaust the vessel again. The gas so admitted to the vacuum vessel or chamber mingles with. the liberated gas in the vessel and facilitates the removal of the rest of the occluded or liberated gas. The desired nonpyrophoric condition has been produced when a sample of the material under treatment does not heat when exposed to the atmosphere.

The separation of the occluded gas from the catalytic material can be expedited and improved by heating the material during the described vacuum treatment. This heating can be effected by any suitable source of .heat, for instance, by steam in a steam jacket surrounding the vacuum vessel or chamber, or by an electric heater attached to the vessel.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of rendering pyrophoric catalytic material non-pyrophoric which consists in exhausting the space in which such material is contained.

2. The method of rendering pyrophoric catalytic material non-pyrophoric which consists in exhausting the space in which such material is contained and applying heat to the catalytic material.

3. The method of rendering pyrophoric catalytic material non-pyrophoric which consists in intermittently exhausting the space in which such material is contained prbpe rty of'a catalytie lilateriai con sists in subjecting such material toiihe successive action pf a partial vacuum, a period of rest and enadmittedjnert gas.

' 6. 'The method of redueing the pyrophoric properties of anatalyticmateri'al which consists" in subjecting such material, while .heat.

.. is applied, tot he successive action. of a 'parsubscribing Witnesses.

" 'tial vacuum,ja. period of rest, and'an admitted inert gas. Witness my hand .in the presence of two CHARLES -BURROWS MOREY. Witnesses: A fl S. E. CLIF' 1,'.

FREDERIC WV. 'CLAUS. 

